The Hoops crashed to a damaging 3-1 defeat at Tynecastle with Hearts soaring eight points clear
Brendan Rodgers took the blame for Celtic’s Tynecastle horror show – but insists he’s still the man to turn things around.
The faltering champions plunged a whopping eight points behind runaway leaders Hearts after a shattering 3-1 defeat in Gorgie.
Raging punters have pointed the finger at the bungling Parkhead board for the club’s staggering demise after a shambolic summer transfer window.
But under-fire Rodgers accepts that the buck ultimately falls with him for failing to get a tune out of his multi-million-pound side.
He said: “I’ve always taken responsibility. There’s never been a time that I haven’t.
“So I suggest when you’re saying, ‘Is there a time?’ There’s always a time.
“When you’re the manager at Celtic, you’re responsible for the results, despite whatever else happens.
“So that responsibility is on me.”
Defiant Rodgers insists his confidence hasn’t been dented despite back-to-back Premiership losses for the first time since December 2023.
He declared: “My determination is pretty much there. I’ve never worked harder in all my time here. So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we’re at.
“It’s absolutely fine. It’s still so early. I think that’s the key point in it all.
“Hearts have made a fantastic start, got the points on the board, but there’s so much football to play.
“We’ve just got to hang in there at this moment, find those performances, find the results and hopefully our levels will improve as the season goes on.
“I think the context of today is obviously disappointing in the game and the result. But there are 29 games left.
“And if Hearts are at their best today, then of course if we can find a consistent level of performance, then there’s absolutely no doubt we can make up the points difference.
“Hearts have made a really good start in terms of points. Our issues have been well documented.
“But we’re working very, very hard with limited time to work on the field to find the solutions.
“Sometimes we’re having to do it in the game, playing players. But we’ll continue to work to do that.”
Rookie stopper Dane Murray endured a nightmare afternoon after being thrown in at the deep end for crocked Cameron Carter-Vickers.
The academy kid scored an OG and gave away a penalty to make it a 3-1 after a trip on Claudio Braga.
But Rodgers refused to hang the 22-year-old out to dry and backed the centre-half to bounce back.
He said: “I think it’s all about learning when you’re a young player. Dane’s been in and around it now for a little while.
“He’s played in some games for us and come into games. So, yes, if you want to play for Celtic, these are the challenges that you want to come and perform in.
“But, yes, listen, he’s a good kid. He trains really, really well. We were looking for him to give us the balance.
“He won some great headers, some really good moments.
“It was just unfortunate how he started the game. But he kept going, showed his mentality and, yes, he’ll learn from the mistakes.
Meanwhile Rodgers confirmed that Daizen Maeda will return to training this week – but cut short of confirming whether the Japanese talisman would make Wednesday’s clash at home to Falkirk.
However, Alistair Johnston and Kelechi Iheanacho won’t be rushed back into contention.
He said: “Daizen will join training tomorrow. Ali and Kels are probably not as serious as we first thought, but I’m not sure that they’ll make Wednesday. But they’ll definitely be a few weeks.”
Asked if Maeda will feature midweek, he added: “I don’t know. We have to look at that. We have to make sure that we introduce him at the right moment. But thankfully, he’s back training.”